People rally around employee fired for taking too long to answer calls after father's death

There should be a clear line between personal and professional aspects of life. People often mix them due to spending so much time at their workplace. But, this is a mistake as no matter how much effort an individual puts towards their profession, they will never be seen as anything more than an employee by a company. It was evident by the experience faced by u/HedgehogSammich in her workplace. At a time when she was at her most vulnerable moment, instead of supporting her, the company where she worked fired her. 

The woman began her post by sharing that the company she worked in was very busy by nature. Therefore, all the employees had to be on point all the time. Prior to her firing, she underwent a tragedy in her life. She wrote that her "father recently passed away from leukemia, and I took some time off to grieve." After coming back from the leave, her HR immediately called in for a meeting, where they notified her that the company had found her "maintaining a higher than average time between calls and they believed I was avoiding calls." The employee defended herself and stated that she wasn't ignoring the calls on purpose.

The break happened because she needed to wipe her eyes and nose after crying due to her father's condition. The HR told her they would consider the reason and investigate it further. After coming into work, she was immediately informed that, as per the investigation, she was let go. The manager felt sad about this outcome. She shared, "This was not okay and not how I should be treated." On her part, she had requested the HR to "just put it as a final warning."

The whole thing was bizarre for the woman, as apart from the one "mistake" they put on her, she was diligent in her duties. She explained in her own words, "I've been a model employee, otherwise. No complaints from co-workers or staff, loads of compliments on my demeanor and call handling." The HR reasoned that they could not give anyone "special treatment" even amid tragedy and therefore, had to fire her. The woman plans to sue as she never signed any paperwork that bound her not to take any legal action. Her next step is to get unemployment cheques from the authorities. She came on Reddit to ask people about further legal steps she should take to benefit herself in the situation.

The comment section empathized with the woman and also gave her legal advice. u/BetaPositiveSCI believes that the woman will be contacted by her previous company again and commented, "If they demand you sign anything, tell them you will have to wait until your unemployment, etc. is fully processed." u/MysteryCuddler asked the woman to take help from media, "Contact your local news. This is probably a story they would pick up." u/SecretScavenger36 extended their condolences and wrote, "Unfortunately being human isn't a protected right. We have to be emotionless wage slaves. I'm so sorry for your loss and having to deal with all this right after too."